What Isn’t Scary

Halloween is a beloved time of the year for many people. Ghost stories, jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treating, Halloween parties, and of course, costumes. And it being this time of year, I thought it worth talking about one costume that should be retired for good, which is that of the mental patient.

Hospitalization in a mental health ward is an important step towards recovery for many. For some, it is the difference between life and death. Yet when we think of other serious, potentially deadly diseases, we don’t see them appearing in the costume store. We aren’t dressing up as cancer patients or heart-attack victims. Yet every year there is the deranged looking costume in a straitjacket. And we wonder why there is such a stigma when we act like those living with severe mental illness are monsters.

Ending the stigma surrounding mental illness in the legal profession means changing the way we talk about it. And Halloween is a perfect time to start that conversation. It is a perfect time to start a conversation about what burn-out, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues actually can look like, instead of what we use to try to scare one another.

Mental health challenges aren’t a costume that can be easily taken on and off, and it is long past time for us to stop pretending otherwise.